I need something naughty. Bandit?

Ok, should I buy Bandit unsniffed? It's probably not a good idea and quite hazardous for my well-being, but I'm curiously drawn to the idea of owning a bottle. A large bottle at that. And Eau de Parfum. Oh, dear....

For reference I love Cuir Mauresque and Gomma, but I'm not very fond of Cabochard.

So tell me, is this for me or not, or does it really matter? My health and sanity lies in your hands.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Originally Posted by Concord

So tell me, is this for me or not, or does it really matter? My health and sanity lies in your hands.

Well, you lay quite a responsibility at our feet!

I love Bandit, but I keep hearing that there's a significant difference between the EdT and EdP versions, and I'm only familiar with the EdT, which is a dark, smokey, animalic leather. I've heard the EdP is more strongly floral (I don't understand the 'more floral' business, since I don't pick up any floral notes in the EdT). I haven't tried Cuir Mauresque or Gomma, so I can't compare them, but I do own and love Cabochard, and Bandit EdT is distinctly deeper and rougher than Cabochard.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

I was obsessed last year with owning Bandit. I tried to wear it, but I just couldn't pull it off. I want to say that if you don't like Cabochard, then you probably won't like Bandit, however... you say you love Gomma. If you love and can wear Gomma, then Bandit will probably be a walk in the park for you. In fact, Bandit might be a little too tame for you. Just my humble opinion.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Are we talking about the women's Bandit?? I believe there's a men's version, as well. My hairdresser loves men's fragrances on herself. I gave her the women's Bandit last year, which she loved. I think it was the EDT. I agree that the EDP is quite different . . . much like Chanel 19 EDP smells more floral to me, than does the '19,' EDT. I think you will like the Bandit, more in EDT form. I'll have to check to see if there is a men's version. I'm almost sure there is. Have never gotten a whiff of that one.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Hi Ladylonestar . . . well, all I know is that they're calling it a 'men's' Bandit. As to whether we're in a 'unisex', NU type situation, I can't yet say. Let's do some research . . . I'll do some googling today, to see if I can get to the bottom of this all important question! Hopefully I'll confuse everyone, even more ;D p.s. to Ladylonestar: where's my recipe??

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

I do seem to recall someone telling me that there is one and only one formula for Bandit; however, there were different bottles for men and women -- actually not different bottles, but different color caps or lids. Anyone else heard this?

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

I had not heard this, but I know that when Bandit was made, it was considered to be a women's fragrance. The models strutted down Piguet's runway show, sporting patches over one eye, and shooting cap guns. The scent was named in honor of American troups that 'stole' France back, from Germany. Will go the perfume encyclopedia, for more.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Hi Ladylonestar . . . the encyclopedia of world perfumes lists TWO Bandit fragrances . . . one for women, one for men. But the men's fragrance has no info available at that site . . . no date, etc. Your info could be correct . . . unisex, with a different cap for the 'men's' version. We need to go to Piguet, to check . . . later . . .

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Hi, I tried to get into Robert Piguet, but the site is 'under construction;' that could take until the second coming to complete. The Good Scents Company lists only a women's Bandit. I suspect that's the case, but that it was so 'unisex,' that perhaps a 'men's' version evolved over time. By this I mean that perhaps the men's Bandit is the women's Bandit, but with a different colored bottle cap. Cedric may know, LadyLonestar . . .

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Originally Posted by Ladylonestar

I do seem to recall someone telling me that there is one and only one formula for Bandit; however, there were different bottles for men and women -- actually not different bottles, but different color caps or lids. Anyone else heard this?

I looked around today . . . what you're saying, could be true. Although the men's version that I'm seeing online, with the tall gold cylindrical cap, looks just like the women's version that I gave to my hairdresser, last year. I remember that cap. Which means that it's possible that both the women's Bandit and the men's Bandit, are the same fragrance, being sold in the same bottle, with identical caps. :-/ I have forgotten now, even what I was talking about . . .

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Originally Posted by Ladylonestar

I do seem to recall someone telling me that there is one and only one formula for Bandit; however, there were different bottles for men and women -- actually not different bottles, but different color caps or lids. Anyone else heard this?

Here I sit, in my jammies, covered in Bandit...:-[....attempting to get to the bottom of this mystery. I was lucky enough to acquire a sample of vintage Bandit from a British eBayer last year (along with samples of Piguet's discontinued Bhagava, Futur and Visa). I have my own bottle of Bandit EdT (marketed as 'Bandit for Men' and sporting a gold cap), and I also dug out a sample of Bandit EdT that I received from a female friend (I'm assuming this to be the modern Bandit marketed for women). I really can't detect a difference between the two modern Bandit EdTs, but there is a difference between the two EdTs and the vintage Bandit. The vintage product is just as dark and dirty and leathery, but it also has a trace of that rich floral essence you find in some of the classic Carons, that's so saturated as to be almost unrecognizable as a floral note. The superficial top-notes are pretty much the same between the vintage and the modern stuff, though. Then again, I still haven't tried the modern parfum or EdP yet.........

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

My Bandit EdP had a black cap. But... are there any labels on box or bottle that say &quot;pour homme&quot; or &quot;pour femme&quot;, &quot;Men&quot;, &quot;Women&quot;, anything like that, whether EdP or EdT?

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

??? Hi . . . I know that the one I bought for my hairdresser, had the gold cap. I puchased it from 1stPERFUME, under the women's listings. This really is an odd, marketing approach. Do not recall the 'sex' being specified on the box. I'll ask Rosemarie to look at her bottle . . .

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Originally Posted by Ladylonestar

My Bandit EdP had a black cap. But... are there any labels on box or bottle that say &quot;pour homme&quot; or &quot;pour femme&quot;, &quot;Men&quot;, &quot;Women&quot;, anything like that, whether EdP or EdT?

Loney,
My Bandit doesn't have anything on the box or the bottle to indicate that it's 'for men': that's just the way it was being marketing on-line (and I can remember where I bought my bottle). The only difference I could discern was in the color of the cap (gold for men, black for women). But I was led to believe that the real difference is between the EdT and EdP, and I haven't tried the EdP. I'll have to send you some of my EdT.......

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Mark, I have a vial of the EdT. I agree with you about the florals. To my nose, it's not that the leather has been turned down but that the florals have been turned up. Seems to me the Bandit EdT is a new category -- Leather Floral. ;D

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Originally Posted by mgarisbn

To Mark, and Ladylonestar:

I GIVE UP. Can't we just wear Cialenga, instead??

No, darling. Not on this thread. :-* On this thread we're wearing Bandit, and by now thoroughly confusing Concord, who only wanted to know whether or not he should buy Bandit unsniffed. Hmm... I wonder what he decided to do?

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Well, I know nothing of a difference between a men‚s and women‚s version of Bandit. However I have tried both the EdT and EdP of what I assumed was women‚s version both times. The EdT smelled nearly transparent on my skin and dried down to pale leather jacket. I wasn‚t all that impressed and wondered what the ruckus was about. Then this past, late summer I tried it in EdP. Wow- the stuff is heady- like nothing I had really ever whiffed before. Very different. I swore up and down I could smell orange flower over all that leather and smoke base. It was strong and much more floral than the EdT but hardly what I would consider „pretty.š Into the heart it did become almost pretty with jasmine and still something citrus-orangey- still to the floral but the „stuffš underneath kept it from getting girly- or even what I‚d consider womanly. So darn unusual I was hoping that I had found a full-blown leather I could truly wear. Then the drydown happened and it sadly smelled of coal-tar, old boots, and ash trays with a distinct chypre tone (which is the kiss of death on me.)

Concord, if you check back in- I‚d say go for EdP. It‚s hardly girly and I think the drydown is exactly what you‚re looking for. As usual: MHO.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Hi mgarisbn-

Unfortunately No 19 turns into an evil, greenish, musty, dusty mess on me (simialr to Cristalle only more evil.) The only concentration I've not tried it in is parfum which- considering it's a Chanel- means I would probably love it in parfum. I think I was just too disgruntled with it to go the distance and hunt down a parfum mini on ebay. Perhaps one day I'll get the bug to try. Thanks for the thought though.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

.....just get Tabac Blond Extrait instead...........!

Jeff

"You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality."-Ayn Rand

"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical...It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government." -Thomas Jefferson

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Being the notorious blind buyer myself I say GO FOR IT!!!

But on second thought :-/
If you don't like Cabochard you might not like Bandit, either. IMO they have a lot in common, both being dry (=unsweet) and smelling like a leather jacket worn by a heavy smoker... Bandit is the Wild One and Cabochard the slightly more Mild One.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

??? Is there a men's Boudoir, I wonder? Does it come in the same bottle as the women's version, but with a different cap? Does it say men's or women's, or something like that, on the bottle? Also . . . is it true that Bandit has been . . . 'modernized?' ???

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Thank you for all your replies. Tabac Blond extrait is way over my budget right now, but something that's been on my wishlist for ages.

The chypre part is what worries me with Bandit and the reason I don't really like Cabochard (or Bel Ami), but I'm leaning towards buying it anyway. I'm thinking of ordering it from Strawberrynet, so I just need to figure out what other two scents to get so I get my 5% extra discount. Hmm.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

I tried Bandit EDP today based on this little discussion. Only on a card, mind, as I am scent-free at the mo. It's great - lots of dense leather, a streak of incense and a creamy floral heart - narcissus?

Highly recommended. It didn't strike me as particularly over-feminine, I think a guy could get away with it. Imagine Jules with narcissus.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

Bandit was my very first 'blind buy', recently.
I have to say, after reading some of the polarised comments on various sites (like makeup alley) I was disappointed to find nothing very 'radical' about it. In fact to my nose it is sort of bland. (I got the Eau de P) and much more floral than leather. I have put it to the back of my cupboard, meanwhile, because maybe it will be a &quot;grower&quot; and when I am in a different frame of mind I might get to appreciate it. I also am straining to detect the carnation note in the floral, but i can't really.. (that was another thing that sold me on the 'idea' of Bandit). I have to say I much prefer Cabochard, so far. And even though I hated Cabochard at first, and grew to love it, at least it provoked an extreme reaction in me to begin with. i expected Bandit to do the same...alas.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

If Bandit works well with your body chemistry it'll smell great (naughty notes and all!) If it doesn't, fuhgeddaboudit! Imo, if you can wear civet, castoreum and smoke-y notes well, Bandit will work for you.

Re: I need something naughty. Bandit?

I was feeling alot like you and took the plunge and bought it. the EDP. The experience was great, I could actually smell something wonderful seeping thru the box before I even openend it. it was pure and sheer boldness and sexyness, together. I feel confident, beautiful and many many other great things when I wear this one. a little goes a long and mysterious way. you are sure to love it. trust me. Ray.